Program Overview

Program Overview

The Ph.D. program in Morphogenesis and Tissue Engineering is part of the School of Doctorate in Biology and Molecular Medicine. The overall aim of the Ph.D. program is to provide cultural, analytical, and methodological tools to perform high-level, basic, or translational research in the biomedical and biotechnological fields.

Educational Goals

The educational aims of the Ph.D. program are developed through research guidelines regarding the study of the mechanisms regulating cell differentiation, tissue homeostasis, regeneration, and the physiopathology of different tissues. The program focuses on teaching students not only notions but also evaluation criteria to innovatively pinpoint unresolved issues and design experimental strategies to address these issues.

Research Areas

The research interests are distributed in three main curricula:

• Curriculum in Morphogenetic and Cytological Sciences:
  • Progression and maintenance of the differentiated state through interaction between muscle cells and factors regulating histogenesis, homeostasis, and tissue regeneration
  • Identification of molecular mechanisms of cell differentiation
  • Tissue engineering to mimic neo-organogenesis to produce ex vivo living tissue and to study cell-cell interactions, stem cell-matrix interactions, and the role of tissue niche on stem cells behavior
  • Molecular mechanisms of tissue remodeling and homeostasis
  • Stem cells and regenerative medicine
• Curriculum in Cell Sciences and Technologies:
  • Mechanisms controlling cell cycle and death, with a primary interest devoted to the study of molecular regulators of the intrinsic and extrinsic apoptosis pathways
  • Isolation and characterization of mammalian germline stem cells, prerequisite for their potential use in medical therapy of infertility and of testis germ cell tumors
  • Tissue homeostasis and malignant transformation: interplay between tissue homeostasis changes induced by inflammatory agents and carcinogenesis or tumor progression in hyperplastic and carcinoma cells and in "in vivo" mouse models of orthotopic- and xenotransplants
  • Cross-talk between signal pathways activated by receptors of innate immunity and oncogenes in the onset of transformed phenotype
  • Immunosuppressive mechanisms developed by tumor cells and strategies to restore anti-tumor immunosurveillance
• Curriculum in Cell and Tissue Biophysics:
  • Mathematical modeling, multivariate statistics, and biophysical chemistry
  • Spectroscopical methods
  • Human biology, molecular genetics, and brain metabolism
  • Dynamical simulations and modeling of biosystems at different dimensional scales

Program Details

• ID: 26083
• Course type: Dottorato
• Academic year: 2025/2026
• Positions: 7
• Grant numbers: 2
• Number of scholarships financed by institutions: 0
• Number of scholarships financed by consortiums: 3

Evaluation and Assessment

• Exam: Oral, scheduled for 11/7/2025 at 09:00 in Aula Monesi, Via A. Scarpa 14/16, RM015 Roma
• Tests: Evaluation of qualifications, scheduled for 26/6/2025

Department and School

• Department: Scienze anatomiche, istologiche, medico-legali e dell’apparato locomotore
• School: Scuola di dottorato in Biologia e Medicina molecolare
• Coordinator: Antonio Filippini

Curriculum

• a) BIOFISICA CELLULARE E TISSUTALE
• b) SCIENZE E TECNOLOGIE CELLULARI
• c) SCIENZE MORFOGENETICHE E CITOLOGICHE

Errata Corrige

An errata corrige has been published to correct a material error in the publication of the approval decree, which did not include decimal numbers in the scores, resulting in scores being rounded excessively. The correction aims to provide accurate information regarding the evaluation criteria and modalities as specified in the call and on the dedicated website.